New owner of Quinsigamond Firehouse promises renovations

Monday

Jul 15, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Aaron Nicodemus, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — For almost 19 years, the Quinsigamond Firehouse, also known as the Millbury Street Fire Station, has been vacant, an eyesore with vines choking its air raid siren tower, its lower windows boarded up, many of its upper windows broken.

Closed Nov. 21, 1994, with the opening of the McKeon Road Fire Station, the building has been largely untouched since then — used mostly to store wreaths and trellises for the neighboring Herbert E. Berg Florist Shop, which has owned the property since 2003.

Benign neglect like that is charming when you talk about the dual horse stalls that still exist inside — hearkening back to the station's days as host to a horse-drawn fire wagon — or the intricately stamped tin ceiling on the building's second floor.

Not so charming, though, is the rooftop cupola that lists decidedly to one side, the fire pole that has been sheared off by metal thieves, or the section of the second-floor ceiling that looks ready to fall in.

The 1892 fire station is listed as one of the 2012 Most Endangered Structures in the city by Preservation Worcester, and it is on a similar list compiled by Preservation Massachusetts.

Finally, someone has stepped forward to save it.

Capstone General Contracting Inc., a Worcester-based company that specializes in fire and water restoration, was one of the contractors that renovated a Springfield home on a 2011 episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Capstone has purchased the building for $100,000. Listed as 837 Millbury St. for many years, the building's address is now 15 Blackstone River Road.

Capstone's vice president and chief executive officer, Charbel Najem of Northboro, said he has had his eye on the building for years.

"I have a passion for restoring old buildings," said Mr. Najem. The old fire station, in the heart of Quinsigamond Village across Blackstone River Road from the Quinsigamond School, "always puzzled me. I thought it had good bones, that it would be great to get in there and do something with it."

Mr. Najem said the company, which he runs with his wife, Christine Najem, plans to invest $600,000 in the building and restore it to how it looked 121 years ago. He plans to keep the original structure intact, demolishing only the small structure on the building's side that was added much later.

The open first floor, where the fire wagon and later the firetruck were housed, will become a showroom. The second floor and attic space will be renovated into offices, he said. In the rear of the building is enough room to park about dozen cars, which should be enough, he said.

The renovated space will house all of Capstone's three divisions and its dozen employees, currently working at office space on Grafton Street.

Deborah Packard, director of Preservation Worcester, said the firehouse was on the organization's first most-endangered list in 1995 and is the only one still on the list. The rest of the structures have either been saved or demolished.

"We're really delighted that something is happening there," she said. "It's a sturdy building, and certainly one worth protecting."

She said the building is representative of the years when Quinsigamond Village was like a small town, separated from the rest of Worcester by railroad tracks and the mammoth steel mills that employed most of its citizens.

"It's an iconic building for that section of the city," she said.

Retired Fire Lt. Donald Courtney worked at the Millbury Street Fire Station from 1984 to 1989. He said the building housed one 50-gallon pumper truck: "It was a glorified pickup truck with a water tank."

"When we needed to go out on a call, a firefighter would have to get out in the middle of the road and stop traffic," he said. "It was charming, for sure. People would always walk up and talk to you; the building is right up on the street. We'd give tours to the school kids all the time."

But it was a tight fit for the four firefighters who manned the building. Everything in the building was outdated, and it was eyed for replacement by city leaders many years before the ax finally fell.

"It wasn't a luxury station. It had a small bathroom, a small kitchen," he said. "We were sad to see it close up. A couple of firefighters talked about making it into a museum, but that never went anywhere."

Mr. Najem said he does not expect construction to begin for about a year, as Capstone obtains approvals from the local Planning and Zoning boards, as well as the local and state historic commissions.

Later this month, Capstone General Contracting will host a party for the neighborhood to introduce itself, said Cathy DiPilato, contracting specialist for DiPilato Property Services, a subsidiary of Capstone.

"We are moving to the neighborhood?…?And we're having a party!" according to a flier being posted around the neighborhood by Capstone. "We purchased the fire station at 15 Blackstone River Road, and we would love to invite you to celebrate with us."

The party will be held at the firehouse from noon to 4 p.m. July 27. There will be free hot dogs and soda, and a custom car show. The company is also hosting a food and wine tent, for $25 admission, in which all proceeds will benefit the charities Opening Heaven's Door, Abby's House and a fund set up to help the families of the 19 firefighters who died in the Arizona forest fire.